Author: Jim Monaghan
Date: 14:10:00 09/15/02
Hi,
Here's an interesting game played in Leo's AmCom tournament. Although Gandalf
won the match 3-1, Zarkov had the satisfaction of taking the last game in pretty
fashion with a positional queen sacrifice where Zarkov's pieces overcame
Gandalf's lady.
[Event "AmCom_2"]
[Site "DUAL-P3-1266"]
[Date "2002.09.05"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Gandalf 5.1"]
[Black "Zarkov 4.5y"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4
O-O 7. e4 a6 8. e5 b5 9. Qb3 Nfd7 10. Be3 c5 11. dxc5 Nxe5
12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Rd1 Qa5 14. Bd2 Be6 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Bh6
Nc6 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. Rxd8 Rfxd8 19. Qa3 b4 20. Qa4 Bd5
21. Qc2 Nd4 22. Qc1 Rac8 23. Be3 Rc6 24. Rg1 Rdc8 25. Qd1
Rxc5 26. Bxa6 Nc2+ 27. Ke2 Nxe3 28. Kxe3 R8c6 29. Bd3 Re6+
30. Kf4 Be5+ 31. Kg4 Rf6 32. Kh4 g5+ 33. Kh5 Kg7 34. f4
Rxf4 35. Qg4 Rxg4 36. Kxg4 Bxa2 37. Ra1 Be6+ 38. Kf3 Bxb2
39. Rb1 {White resigns} 0-1
There are two interesting decision points. The first one is here:
[D] rn1q1rk1/4pp1p/p3b1pB/1pPNb3/8/1Q6/PP3PPP/3RKB1R b K -
Most engines will want to play 16...Qa5+ here with a possible line of 17.Bd2 Qd8
and a repitition. Not Zarkov, 16...Nc6 is an enterprising move. I've found some
engines will play this move as well.
The next position is even more intriguing.
[D] r2R1rk1/4pp1p/p1n1bbpB/1pP5/8/1Q6/PP3PPP/4KB1R b K -
Here most engines want to play 16...Bxb3 with this idea: 19. Rxf8+ Rxf8 20.
Bxf8 Bxa2 21. Bh6 Bxb2. Black has a N+2Ps against a WR. The two pawns are
connected passers on the queenside. White's c-pawn is safely blockaded and is
way behind in development. Rooks can wreck havoc in the endgame however. Can
White untangle himself in time or is the position a win for Black? (Rhetorical
question.) Black looks clearly better, whether it's a win or not ... is another
matter.
I guess it's a question of style as to how to proceed. Zarkov's 16...Rfxd8 is
certainly strong as well only in a different way. The game is kept in the
middlegame and turns into an uneven battle between Black's well co-ordinated
forces against Gandalf's queen. The eval slowly creeps up as one progresses
through the game and only then do most engines realize that Black is better here
in this second line.
Only Crafty, of the freely available engines I tested, like Zarkov's move. The
others all perfer the more prosaic endgame alternative which seems a strong line
as well, if not as enterprising.
In the second position, does any other program, besides Zarkov and Crafty perfer
the middlegame approach?
Cheers,
Jim
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